Suicide is neither contagious nor incited by conversation. Just as we teach our children to look both ways before they cross the street or to brush their teeth before bedtime, we need to arm them with the truth about depression and suicide.

In writing Give Sorrow Words I wanted to invite readers to join me on my journey. My intention was to let our story unfold naturally, not be weighed down by statistics and research. However, it was also important that readers understand that there is never one reason in suicide.

We reviewed 10 years of data on injury deaths of children from 2001 through 2010. In this report, a special focus was directed to the cause of death among children 13 to 17 years old. Gun violence persists as a leading cause of death in this age group.

This September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a time when we should all learn steps we can take to prevent the tragedy of suicide and take action to reduce risk for all people. During this month of awareness, I urge the LGBT community to take a stand and lead the fight to end suicide.